Books like Ascent into hell by Andrew M. Greeley

Alice Walker's 1982 novel, The Color Purple, won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, exploring the lives of black women in the South and their experiences of abuse and struggle for independence.

When Belgian detective Hercule Poirot returns to the English village of King's Abbot, he confronts the murder of industrialist Roger Ackroyd, unraveling a web of family secrets and hidden motives that reveal the culprit was nobody he expected.

Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

John Irving’s narrative follows two eleven‑year‑old boys in New Hampshire whose friendship is shattered when a foul ball kills one boy’s mother. The survivor, Owen Meany, believes he is a divine instrument, and the novel traces the impact of that belief on his life and the lives of those around him.

A classic collection of Sherlock Holmes detective tales featuring the renowned sleuth, including adventures such as “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone” and “The Adventure of the Three Gables.”

A woman's rise from poverty to political influence, inspired by stories told by a storyteller's daughter.

A collection of Father Brown short stories, in which the Catholic priest detective solves mysteries with gentle wit and keen observation.

Near her hundredth birthday, Roseanne McNulty confronts the impending closure of Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital, revealing her life and Ireland’s hidden past through journals with her psychiatrist, Dr Grene.

A Christmas mystery about a violinist who saves his own life and saves the life of his mother, a street musician who steals his wallet, and a little boy who follows him into the subway, leading to a dangerous journey that threatens their lives.

Matt Hunter, a former criminal, uncovers a shocking truth that puts his freedom and love for Olivia in jeopardy.

Temple Stevens, a nurse on trial for murder, chooses to confess to killing her own daughter in an attempt to save herself and her dying sister.

A mysterious disappearance and a wedding gone wrong lead to a heart-wrenching love story set in the 1970s.

Margaret Maron's mystery, Slow Dollar, follows fictional judge Deborah Knott as she navigates a North Carolina case that turns to the intrigue of a circus.

A literary thriller about two men living in a world of fiction, words, scenes, characters, and the New York Times bestseller list, featuring a complex plot involving deception, envy, and the power of the written word.

Marine biologist Doc Ford is caught in the middle of a hurricane that turns into a web of revenge and murder.

Travis McGee investigates the disappearance of Maureen Trescott, a troubled young woman who attempts to kill herself multiple times. The protagonist must unravel the mystery of her past and prevent her from taking her own life.

In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor in chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a forty-three-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brain stem. After twenty days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body that had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail, blinking to select letters one by one as a special alphabet was slowly recited to him, over and over again. In the same way, he was eventually able to compose this extraordinary book. By turns wistful, mischievous, angry and witty, Bauby bears witness to his determination to live as fully in his mind as he had been able to in his body. He explains the joy, and the deep sadness, of seeing his children and of hearing his aged father's voice on the phone. In magical sequences, he imagines traveling to other places and times; of lying next to the woman he loves. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasting the full flavor of delectable dishes. Again and again he returns to an "inexhaustible reservoir of sensations," keeping in touch with himself and the life around him.